Preparing to launch to perform at the 1991 Salinas air show and then return home. The day before, the aircraft left NAS Lemoore, performed at Salinas and recovered at Monterey. The pilot was by himself, so after he performed the preflight (including diving into each intake trunk!), he secured the boarding ladder, did a pull-up on the Sidewinder rail to get atop the plane, then walked to the cockpit and strapped in.